$50 well spent! But questions too!

[cowgirluntamed]

55 gallon (old style, 3/8th inch thick glass! No center bracing at all) plus a metal stand that can actually hold 2 55s! But my floor will only do one.....lol.

Now I can do my huge glowlight tetra tank too!! This is going to be the gourami tank with fish that will work with him. Lol. Yay!!

Anyway, my main question...it was holding water, the lady just drained it. But looking at it, the seals don't look good. They look original. Now...I don't think it would be too hard to reseal the inside, but....I don't really want to mess with the top brace! I know in joey, king of diy videos that he says you have to take it off....but I plan on this water not going that high anyway. Now, on the inside the brace actually goes up quite a bit. So I could still have the water up, but may not because of my gourami anyway. Lol. So.....would you seal it without moving the brace?

 

[AbbeysDad]

No you don't need to remove the top brace, just treat it like the other areas.

Remove all the old silicone being careful NOT to pierce in between the glass panes. Get all the loose silicone pieces out of the tank. Clean the sealing areas with acetone or isopropyl alcohol. This is important to better ensure good silicone adhesion. Let dry. then seal with 100% clear silicone* and let cure 24-48 hours. (*Joey recommends Silicone I, but I've used Silicone II [window & door] - AS LONG as it's labeled 100% silicone and doesn't contain anti-bacterial agents (e.g. bathroom) your okay)

You may or may not need to finger over the silicone - it depends on how good your bead is. You can be a little messy around the bottom as this will be covered by substrate - so it's a good place to start to perfect your bead.
Take your time. but it's simple and easy.

Note: The tank looks like it needs a good scrubbing before sealing. I like using Barkeepers Friend and a scotchbrite like scrubbing pad. Just rinse well when finished. For the "faint at heart" and/or such a large aquarium, you may prefer white vinegar instead.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Yep! I've got some bar keepers friend on hand actually since I rebuilt my other 55 that I don't have set up yet. I believe I have some tubes of silicone I still as well. I just wanted to make sure it was ok to not take that to rim off. Lol. That colored gravel is not going to stay...lol. sand substrate, planted. This will be my gourami tank when done. Yay!! I do want to spray paint the back of it blue though. Hopefully I can find the right paint! If I could find blue plastidip I would rather use that on the tank. I may need to paint the rims too if they don't clean up well. But yeah, lots and lots of scrubbing before sealing and such!!